Registration

Submitted by siteadmin on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 4:48pm

Welcome to the 2016-17 Competitive Swim Season!

Returning and new swimmers are now being accepted. If you have any questions, please write to CollegiateAquatics@gmail.com or speak with a Collegiate coach during our August/early September training sessions.

Additional team information, including practice schedules, practice group breakdowns and fundraising requirements can be found on our Competitive Program and Schedules webpages on this website.

Collegiate Aquatics competitive program fees can be viewed on the registration form or the summary of fees table posted at the bottom of this page.

Registration should be made for a specific practice group (Novice Group, Age Group Green, Age Group Silver, Age Group Blue, Senior Group).

A completed athlete(s) registration form and first payment must be completed in order to secure a spot on Collegiate Aquatics roster.

Any swimmer formerly affiliated with USA Swimming, either with a team or "unattached" must also complete a Middle Atlantic Swimming transfer request form. Please return the transfer form to the Collegiate mailing address or to a coach during an in-person registration date. The transfer fee should be made payable to Collegiate Aquatics.

If you are not sure which practice group would be the best fit for you/your swimmer(s), you should review the descriptions of swimming levels on Collegiate's Competitive Program web page HERE.

Payment of Program Fees:

Payment can be made in full on or before the first practice or in monthly installments for six months.

A 5% discount will be granted for each sibling. The multiple swimmer discount policy applies only to siblings residing at the same address.

If payment of registration fees presents a financial difficulty, coaches have the discretion to provide scholarships or work out other means to assist families. Parents are welcome to speak with coach Kurt or coach Erich to discuss options. It is a program goal for ALL swimmers to be afforded the opportunity to compete on a winter team, enjoy their role valued team member, and experience a sense of achievement. No swimmer has been denied the opportunity to join the program based on financial hardship. All inquiries will be handled confidentially.

USA Swimming Membership

Membership in USA Swimming is included for all Collegiate Aquatics swimmers. Swimmers of all ages and abilities will be provided the opportunity to compete in dual, invitational, and championship format meets. Attendance for multi-team USA sanctioned events (A/BB/C, A+, etc) is optional, however, participation is strongly encouraged.

Collegiate Aquatics depends on fundraising dollars to meet its annual operating budget as program fees do not fully fund all of our expenses. Each family has the option of participating in the fundraising activities scheduled throughout the season or simply paying a fundraising buyout option (this buyout can be paid in full or monthly during the monthly program fee payment option).

Fundraising is assessed per family by the number of swimmers in the family. Fundraising profits a family accumulates from all fundraisers throughout the season are credited toward the fundraising fee.

Any unmet portion of the fundraising fee will be applied to any future financial obligation. Collegiate Families must meet their previous season's fundraising priorities in order to be eligible to rejoin the team the following season.

Assessment per family with one child: $275
Assessment per family with two children: $375
Assessment per family with three children: $450

Families who register only a novice swimmer should subtract $75 from the family's total fundraising assessment.

Please see our fundraising page HERE for details about our various fundraisers.

Collegiate Aquatics is a 501c3 nonprofit entity with daily and annual operations that require it function like a small business. Collegiate incurs ongoing expenses such as team, athlete and coaching registration fees, pool rental, meet entry fees, and web site maintenance. The team also incurs periodic expenses such as equipment purchases and apparel design set-up fees. There is a need to keep our income on a regular schedule.

Collegiate families pay three types of fees to the club. These fees are the USA Swimming Registration fee (collected at the time of registration), Collegiate Aquatics program fees (which covers a significant percentage of pool rental), and meet entry fees.

The USA Swimming Registration fee covers from September 1st through December 31st of the following year (i.e. September 1st, 2016 – December 31st, 2017). This fee covers USA Swimming registration and insurance and is paid to Middle Atlantic Swimming by Collegiate Aquatics. All swimmers on Collegiate Aquatics roster must be registered with USA Swimming in order for the team's insurance policy to remain valid.

The program fees cover the cost of pool rental, coach’s certification and training, equipment purchases, administrative expenses, and other items included in the budget.

Meet entry fees go towards covering the cost of meet entries. After entries are submitted and once a USA or local invitational meet closes, Collegiate is obligated to cover the costs of all events in which swimmers subscribed to participate.

Payment procedures:
The USA Swimming registration fee is collected with our Short Course Registration in August/September. Swimmers who register after this date must pay the USA Swimming registration fees prior to starting practice and competition. The USA-S fee is non-refundable after the second week of practice. Swimmers who have registered for the Short Course season do not have to pay this fee for the (summer) Long Course season.

Collegiate Aquatics program fees are collected once each year prior to the beginning of the short course fall/winter season.
There are two payment options:
Option 1, program fees can be paid in full or
Option 2, the fees can be paid in six installments, once a month on the 15th of each month, for six months: September15-February 15.

A significant cost of our program budget is tied to pool rental which by contract, limits the number of swimmers that may utilize the pool at any given time. Because of this cost and inability to modify the team’s income once limits are met, the following refund policy has been established:
• After two weeks: Team fees will be refunded minus $50 per swimmer and the USA Swimming registration fee for each swimmer.
• After 30 days: 2/3 of team fees will be refunded minus the USA Swimming registration fee for each swimmer. The family will be responsible for payment of at least 1/3 of the team fees and 1/3 fundraising commitment.
• After 45 days: 1/2 of team fees will be refunded minus the USA Swimming registration fee for each swimmer. The family will be responsible for payment of at least 1/2 of the team fees and 1/2 fundraising commitment.
• After 60 days: No team fees will be refunded. The family will be responsible for payment of 100% of team fees owed plus at least 1/2 of the fundraising commitment.

If a payment is more than 10 days past due, there will be a $25 finance charge. If a payment is more than 45 days past due, the swimmers will not be able to participate in the program until all fees are paid. Swimmers with competitive swim team experience can join at any time, provided space is available, for a prorated fee, based on the second payment option.